Siouxsie & the Banshees

Third Grade Love

2012-02-14T10:01:00.000-08:00

In watching my teenage daughter approach Valentine's Day with great thought, observing my husband and myself approach it with indifference (neither of us could remember if we exchange gifts of not...?), and then seeing my elementary age girls prepare, I have to say that the elementaries win. The younger girls have genuine enthusiasm, but are shielded from the anxiety and complacency of their elders.

The girls both made valentines and attached candy with real excitement at the prospect of giving them away. Emma invited a friend over to spend the whole afternoon creating glittery boxes to receive valentines. In honor of Valentine's Day, they wore red shirts with sequined hearts on them to school, and bows in their hair. They brought candy for the classroom party, and expect a great day- but don't expect it from anyone in particular.

The teenager also put thought into what she wore, it was tastefully not the obvious red, but navy and fushia. There are no cartoon valentines to prepare anymore, but bigger issues. Should she reciprocate the rose she received in homeroom last week? As a fundraiser, students can buy a rose, attach a message and have it delivered. The girl has been smiling ever since she got hers, but it also creates a dilemma... should she bring a gift too? If so, what? And when should she deliver it? At school, or not at school...? So much work!

For my valentine, I bought Adidas sandals and some peanut M&Ms at ShopKo last night, where I went to buy myself a new pillow, and was assaulted by the reality that Valentine's Day was today. Whoops. Again, do we exchange gifts or not? Better safe than sorry.... I didn't wrap them, or attach a card, just laid them out for him to find this morning. For good measure, I got the girls a balloon and a box of candy. In return, my valentine is making a shish kabob dinner, and I may receive a cartoon valentine from my kids. Simple, just the way I like it. But have I given up on the fun of Valentine's Day?

So in honor of the elementaries who seem have it all figured out, I've posted their words from an email sent by the computer teacher at my girls' school last year. The assignment was to type an ending to the sentence, " Love is..." These are the actual responses, my kid included.

"Love is when you go to a movie with a girl and you pay for it even if you don't want to see it."

"Love is when your cat waits for you to get home from school."

"Love is when two people tease each other."

"Love is when two people meet and cupid shoots you in the butt."

"Love is like hugs from family and throw up."

"Love is when someone is feeling something for someone."

"Love is when a turtle falls in love with a cheetah. Even though he can't catch up."

"Love is when I go to school and my brother cries because he misses me."

"Love is when someone does something nice that you didn't want but you thank them anyway and smile."

"Love is the worst thing on earth, how did someone make it up?"

"Love is when grown-ups get married and have kids and a house."

"Love is when you smile at someone even though you don't like the gift they gave you."

"Love is like soccer when you score a goal."

"Love is when you come home to a happy family."

"Love is when you get a four carat diamond ring, get a big white dress, and say I do."

"Love is like getting a new video game, only better."

"Love is foolish but maybe I'll try it sometime."

Well said! Happy Valentine's Day!

Miss Clavel Turned on the Light

2012-01-23T21:28:00.000-08:00

As you know, Sierra almost died two years ago from a ruptured appendix with abscess. This was partly because her first surgeon was a moron, and partly because she tried for a really long time to just wait it out. When we found out how bad her situation really was, Sierra just kept saying, "But that's not how it was for Madeleine..." That was her reason for waiting it out, because her illness didn't follow the Guidebook to Appendicitis- Madeleine!

We laugh about that now. If I had thought of it then, I would have had all the nurses and doctors who took care of her sign a copy of Madeleine. But I was in survival mode, and had been for six years, so I didn't do it.

Fast forward to a week ago, I am reading Madeleine to Kate before bed. "In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines..." She had a bit of a tummy ache, but I attributed that to the pink frosted Krispy Kreme she ate after dinner. " In the middle of the night Miss Clavel turned on the light and said, "Something is not right."

I love where my family is right now. I love our routine, our jokes, and the stage of life we are in. Everyone sits and eats dinner. Nobody messes their pants. It's all good. But it took a stint in NICU, a helicopter ride, a court battle, and encounters with speech therapy, braces, endoscopies, colic, reflux, cancer, ADD, knee surgery, nose surgery, hospitalizations for dehydration, stitches, head glue, x-rays, ultrasounds, steroids, asthma, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, ear tubes, adenoidectomy, allergy shots, appendectomy, and even acupuncture to get us here.

I wake up later to the sound of crying through the vents. Kate is sobbing in the bathroom directly below our bedroom. I bolt upright, but am so confused. What's going on? Lines from Madeleine are all I can remember. "In the middle of the night Miss Clavel turned on the light and said, "Something is not right."

"And afraid of a disaster, she ran fast, and even faster..." So I ran- downstairs. I find Emma and Kate up. Kate is covered in puke. She had slept on the trundle next to Emma's bed. Puke was everywhere. It was all over her bed, Emma's bed, and the carpet. In case you were wondering, that lovely pink frosting from Krispy Kreme, when vomited up, will stain your carpet.

I got them both settled in different beds, and started the laundry, and carpet scrubbing. It was 2 am. Gotta love my good boy Titus, though, he got up and accompanied me on every trip up and down the stairs. He wouldn't go to sleep until I did.

Kate threw up all night. Eight times, I think. I remembered how painful sleep deprivation is. By the following afternoon, she wouldn't eat or drink because of pain, and was scary lethargic. That old familiar panic settled into my gut. Please, please don't make us go to the hospital. No more dehydration, no more appendicitis, please! We headed to the doctor, who gave her an anti-nausea so we could try and get liquids in her. If she could pee before dinner, she could avoid an IV.

And you know what? She did. The medicine was a god-send. The panic drifted away as she got better. And I wanted to cry. Not just because she had been sick, but because for once in the last seven years, a child got dangerously sick, and got better without major medical intervention. It is a whole new world, this getting better thing. I finally could see that all that awfulness of all those years, all the worry, and confusion...all that drama... is over. We have grown up. We have all gotten better!

"Good night, little girls, thank the Lord you are well... and now go to sleep, said Miss Clavel."

The East Wind aka God's Economic Stimulus Plan

2011-12-11T22:49:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, the narrow strip of civilization where I live, maybe about 20 miles long, was hit with a massive east wind. 102 mph frigid, icy winds poured over the mountains and let loose on my town.

I have been in few frightening storms before. I experienced some earthquakes when I was young living in California, but they were short lived moments that did little damage, and I was not the adult in charge.

Working at a rich girls' summer camp in Maine when I was 20, I lived in a cabin that was literally four feet from the lake. It was beautiful, and I loved watching the sun set from the tiny porch, and listening to the loons sing at night. Every now and then, though, a mean lightning storm would roll through that was truly terrifying, but again, no harm, no damage, no responsibility.

I woke on Thursday morning to a really frightening storm; there was no snow, rain, sleet or hail, just crazy mind boggling, ear splitting wind. And I was the grown up in charge, that was also terrifying. The power was already out when I woke up, and we live close enough to the schools for me to know that they wouldn't have power either, so I didn't bother getting my kids ready. Besides, there was too much to do.

I went outside to secure everything I could. I brought in all the Christmas decorations, the lawn furniture and the grill. While I was outside, I watched the crazy wind crack, then blow the neighbors's large tree over. It took less than 30 seconds to fell a 30 foot tree. That's when I went back inside.

The wind didn't let up for 10 hours. That was one of the most frightening things- it just didn't stop. Our garage door faces east, and was totally destroyed. Standing inside the garage during the middle of it, I could see daylight through the center seam of the garage doors as they were being forced inward. I dragged two heavy steel shelves up against the garage door to try to support it from caving in. I was really worried that if the door blew down, it would not only damage my car, but everything in the garage would take flight. I loaded the shelves with everything heavy I could find, but was still horrified when the wind pushed the steel shelves away from the garage door over and over again. I spent about an hour leaning against the shelves with all my strength to keep them in place.  My new garage door is reinforced with steel bars, in case you were wondering.

The trampoline was a total loss. The 30 springs were scattered over 2 acres, but the majority of the parts landed in the horse pasture, and no two pieces were left together. Two days later the girls and I hauled it all back over a barbed wire fence, with the horse looking intently on. Shortly after that, I found one of the horses grazing in my back yard. I'm pretty sure he didn't know how to get over the fence until we showed him how.

In the middle of this chaos, my water heater choose to give up the ghost. Water was gushing out the bottom into the storage room. I mopped it up the best I could, but had to shut off the water to prevent an ark-scale flood. Now we had no heat, no lights, and no water. Did I mention that the gas fireplace wasn't working? It was cold.

After the east wind finally let up, Sierra and I pulled the door up enough to get my car out of the garage, and just in the nick of time, Rebekah and her husband (thanks guys!) showed up. Jason popped it back out with broom and got the door shut. Did I mention that Rob was in Phoenix this whole time?

By then the lawn was littered with other people's shingles, pieces of flashing, garbage, a skylight, and of course, trampoline springs. By 4:30 it was really getting dark and cold. We had gone to Chick-Fil-A to get something warm to eat and to get out of the house, but we couldn't sleep there.

It was amazing to see how everyone everywhere was talking to perfect strangers about the chaos they had seen. The guy who took my order at Chick-Fil-A woke up that morning to his bedroom window shattering. Looking outside, one giant tree had fallen on his neighbor's house, and another on his mom's car. His chickens had blown up in other trees, and he had to climb up and bring them down one by one.

Driving around, there was destruction everywhere. Fences gone. Signs gone. Billboards torn to shreds. Roofs blown down to plywood. Trees on houses, in the roads... trees down everywhere. And they were all giant trees. The little young trees were all fine. In one cul-de-sac, 30 giant trees went down, but not one landed on a person, or a house.

The interstate was closed because so many semis tipped over, and the roadway was covered with signage, trampolines and trees. School was cancelled because of the power outages, and the sheer amount of debris everywhere. We slept at the cousin's house, where they at least had a fire. The kids roasting mini marshmellows over candlelight and we ate Chinese. It was fun, until Emma woke up puking, over and over. We headed back home to check things out, and get the sick kid away from other kids. Much to my despair, there was still no power, no heat. It was really, really cold then. What do you do?

We went to the mall. It was the only place where you can hang out for hours without getting arrested. I was really grateful that there were places we could go that still had power. In a bigger disaster, there would have been no where to go, and that is scary.  The high that day was 29 degrees; we would have frozen.

Thankfully, 36 hours after it went out, the power came back on, which is good because I was at my wit's end after discovering the extent of the water heater flood in the family room. A repairman came quickly to fix the fireplace, and another to replace the water heater, once the power was on. Then I could rip up and put fans on the soggy carpet, bathe, and feed my children. Well, after I threw away all the questionable food in the fridge and restocked it, that is.

I spent Saturday putting things back together, and rotating the fan in the basement. I was utterly exhausted, but I knew it could've been so much worse. The whole neighborhood was out with chain saws digging each other out and repairing siding and roofs.

On Sunday, I took the girls to church as usual. After the first meeting, they asked everyone to stay to hear an annoucement from the bishop. Another east wind was on its way, the National Weather Service reported. It would begin late Sunday night, and could be nearly as bad as before. They warned that all debris needed to be cleared before it all turned into flying projectiles again. Also, some nearby people had been without power for 72 hours. Church was cancelled in the whole region so everyone could get to work and get it all cleaned up, and prepare their homes to take in those people should they lose power again and we didn't.

Church is never cancelled. The general concensus is that the last time church was cancelled was when Brigham asked the people to go rescue the Willlie & Martin pioneers stranded in Wyoming by the heavy snow. I called Rob and asked him to please, please, get on an early flight and come home. Which he did.

Watching the whole community get out and pull together that Sunday made it difficult to see this terrifying storm as a tragedy. No one was hurt, and so many people were overcome to see the service that other people offered. One friend of mine had 20 men work in her yard with chainsaws for seven hours to clear her house of fallen trees. People donated fork lifts, trailers, chain saws, and lots and lots of time.

The entire community was cleaned up within 48 hours of the storm, by the community itself, and thankfully, the second storm never came. The dump was opened for free, and groups of people who had no damage went there just to help people unload their trailers- just to be helpful. It wasn't until several days later that I saw the National Guard at work; on my way to the school, a convoy of seven huge tank-like truck barreled down the road headed to the dump. By then, most of the work, save repairing fences, was already done.

I'm really proud of my town, and my neighbors. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in a similar situation.   And as we've been putting everything back together again, as I've called the plumber, the carpet guy, the fireplace guy, the garage door guy, etc., I can't help but think that this was God' economic stimulus package. All the prayers for jobs have been answered. Everyone is working. It was difficult to get on the garage guy's schedule, and don't even try to find a roofer. We tried, to repair the rental house, and every one of them had a full mailbox.

It was a scary storm, it was a week of chaos, but it brought our community closer together, made us grateful for the luxuries of modern living, and put people back to work who have been without. This was the embodiment of , "Come what may, and love it."

Zomie Queen

2011-11-06T21:36:00.000-08:00

In a perfect blogging world, I would have posted pictures of my beautiful children in their cute costumes last week. But while they are beautiful, and their costumes cute, I never did post them. And the question is, in November, does it matter anymore...?

Halloween started this year for us on October 1st. It takes almost as much prep work as Christmas. We have boxes of decorations to put up, pumpkins to pick, and costumes to create. Rob was a 70's guy in a lime green leisure suit made memorable with his blond feathered wig. It was a thing of beauty. He even wore it to ward council. Sierra was a cave girl, and Kate was an angel. All of these were pretty easy to put together. But Emma wanted to be a Zombie Prom Queen. I have no idea where she got the idea, but there was no way to dissuade her, and believe me, I tried. She had a vision and that was that.

Two days and four stores later, we had a costume. A red lace dress from Savers, long white satin gloves, a big black curly wig, plastic tiara, and face paint. But she needed a sash. An identifying "Zombie Queen" sash. I put her off for weeks because sash making never seemed urgent, until we were suddenly racing frantically from a swim meet to a Halloween party and she was sans sash. So I ran to the storage room and got out some satin fabric, glitter and glue. I was actively priding myself on being able to throw together a last minute zombie sash moments before a party- that is a feat for an amazing mom! And I was an amazing mom!

I held that belief until I realized at the party that I had misspelled zombie. My daughter was a "zomie queen." Oh well, maybe I was downgraded a little for the spelling error, but who would notice? I was still a great mom at least... Then I returned home and discovered that I was not amazing or great, just dumb. Apparently I had used the new kind of clear Gorilla Glue, not Elmer's at all, to pen my gorgeous sash. And I had done it on my countertop. And it was completely hardened. I had just permanently etched "Zomie Queen" onto the countertop of my new house. That's me...one amazing mom!

In case this ever happens to you, you can get Gorilla Glue off countertops with nail polish remover, followed by a little whitening toothpaste. My countertop is now as smooth as can be, and at nighttime you can't even read what it says. Sadly though, in the light of day, "Zomie Queen" glints off the counter still.

During the whole Halloween prep period, I had headaches every day. I thought it was just lack of sleep or the stress of Gorilla Glue, but then I realized that I had gone through most of a bottle of Advil, and found it necessary to carry a little bottle in my purse too. And I couldn't remember anything; I had many Alzheimer's moments every hour. Then the headache got worse, and never went away, even with Advil. So I finally went to see the doctor, who informed me that my six weeks of suffering were due to a double ear and sinus infection. This seems obvious now, but I never had a cold before the headache, and it didn't effect my nose at all. Just my head, and ears, just pain, that's all. And the pain was exquisite. After I saw the doctor it just got worse, until the antibiotic finally kicked in. But I am only five days in and my head still hurts, but not in the my-head-is going-to-explode-out-my-ears pain. And my brain is still stupified. Today in church I lost four games of tic tac toe to my six year old, and I was trying my hardest, it was really sad! But I am on the mend. I haven't forgotten where I am driving to for a few days. And I have a great scapegoat for the Gorilla Glue Fiasco- I was out of my mind!

This One's For You, Mike

2011-09-25T18:08:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to try and hide the fact that I have a favorite blog reader. My fellow reality TV fan and favorite reader award goes to... Mike! Now before my other five readers get too upset, I'll tell you why. Mike is the only one who told me to get back to it. And if Mike thought it was better that I give up blogging for good, he would have said so. So taking his advice, I am back. And since I will never, ever move again, I am back for good.

Moving was just as delightful as I remembered it. While there was no U-Haul near death experience like last time (when the back tire FELL OFF the U-Haul at 60 mph on the freeway during construction), moving sucks no matter what. You have to beg apple boxes from the grocery store, handle every sock, paper clip and DVD you have ever purchased to pack them in said boxes. You have to go without the luxury of knowing where your tape is, your chapstick, and your sanity because no matter how well organized you thought you were in packing and labeling the apples boxes, suddenly, at your new house, the labels are meaningless. They do not contain what they advertise! Then there is the crop of stuff you had to pack after the boxes ran out, but all of your friends and neighbors are already loading your stuff into the truck. That leftover stuff gets crammed into garbage sacks, suitcases, and laundry baskets. It is a soup of your life, filled with crap that if you had never bought, would probably be worth enough to pay off your car.

This time we only moved 1.1 miles from our old house, and while this should have been easier than moving to a different state, I can't say that it was. Instead of one horrific day of cramming a moving van full, we spent weeks and weeks taking carloads and trailer loads until it was finally done. By the end, the stuff soup ended up piled in the garage, which is to be expected, except that half of it wasn't boxed, so instead of looking like a respectable mess, it look like an impressive hoard.

And this is how all of your new neighbors meet you and get that all important first impression. You are sweaty, in the same nasty jeans you have worn for 10 days, piling your hoard. You haven't eaten anything but Arby's for days on end and you are yelling at your children, and your dog who has taken it upon himself to mark all of the nice new neighbors' mailboxes as his own.

Before you can put yourself together and try to fix that first impression with your neighbors, you have to unpack, but before you can unpack, you realize, you really need to paint the walls because they are covered with the feel of Other People. And could that really, really be what it looks like on that wall? Other People's dried boogers on the wall? No, I did not see that during the walk-through!

Once the boogers are removed, walls, cabinets sanitized, and the fridge is delivered, you realized that you do not have the internet, a phone, or any mail coming to your house. Sigh. So much is expected of you when you can't even find your hairbrush.

Then there is that little run in with Hector from the power company who decided to shut off the power to your new house because you had not set up a new account because you already had an account with a power company, but whoops, that was the wrong company. No notice, bam, the power goes off literally moments after you fill your beautiful new fridge with $200 worth of groceries. Hector, I am sorry for my choice words, but thanks for getting the power turned back on before 5:00. If it weren't for that restraining order, I would have thanked you in person.

But, six months later, it doesn't seem so bad. I can download songs again, park in my garage and could even locate my 2009 taxes required for that pesky little audit. Life is good again. The house is great- in a cul-de-sac, lots of bathrooms, in the same schools as before, with a view of the mountains. I love living here so much I plan to haunt the house when I die. Like I said, I'm never moving again.

2011-03-29T20:38:00.000-07:00

So my poor little blog here has been neglected for two good reasons. I discovered Facebook and moved into our new house! (the reason for no pictures)

Up until now, I have politely ignored all friends' requests to join Facebook. I dismissed Sierra when she tried repeatedly to convince me for over a year to sign up. I would not be swayed- after all, shouldn't I make sure to have laundry and projects and homework done before I find a new way to waste time? And don't I keep in touch with all the people that I actually like anyway?

No, it turns out I shouldn't! And I like more people than I thought I did... I finally got on when Sierra showed me how she could see what my friends were talking about. That just seemed wrong, so I caved. And I discovered that my friends are talking a lot. Day and night. That first night I linked FB to my blackberry and woke up to find out I got 20 new friends while I slept! Too much fun.

I now know what my neighbor across the street is thinking(she's having a great vacation), how many kids my long lost college friend has (3), what my prom date from Switzerland is doing (moving in with his boyfriend.. which explains why he never would kiss me...) and how my friend from junior high son's is doing after surgery. And I can poke my daughter every day, and she pokes me back, and I poke her...

All that, plus 45 birthday greetings and I was hooked. At first it made me lose track of the blog, but the honeymoon is over and I am ready to say something that is longer than a sentence fragment. But at the moment I'm tired and ready to go to sleep, and I haven't actually said anything that I couldn't have posted on FB in five words or less, but boy it feels good to ramble again. Next time I will ramble about my new house. Which everyone on Facebook already knows about.

2011-01-10T12:38:00.000-08:00

My junior high daughter has learned most of what she knows about history from Billy Joel. She will randomly ask, "Why were the Russians in Afghanistan?" or "What is Red China?" I love these questions because I majored in history in college. Before I respond to her though, I always ask," Are you learning about that in school?" She usually replies, "No, we're learning about why Sarah Palin should never be elected to office. I was just wondering because I heard it on "We Didn't Start the Fire..."

At first, this was just funny to me, but last night, I was upset. This amazingly smart girl, the one who gets perfect scores on her end of level exams, knows next to nothing about history. Or she didn't before I started lecturing. She was astonished to find that the genocide in Rwanda, where one million people were slaughtered in 100 days, happened in 1994, a mere 16 years ago. She can fathom atrocities from long ago, but not today! She also thought the Berlin wall was a "theoretical wall," probably confusing it with the Iron Curtain, but still. We had to break out Youtube to watch footage of the actual, concrete wall, being hammered out of existence. Also, for strictly education purposes, we had to watch Karma Chamaelon and Girls Just Want to Have Fun.

But I was back to banging my head on the table when this very bright girl of mine could not find Siberia on a map. Now, I know that not everyone is a devotee of history, but when did it become the step-child of education?

Rob, the in-house teacher, answered that question, glad to contribute without having to be stuck at the table with the atlas, or me. History is not tested at the state level. End of level tests include math, science, and language arts, so that is where the most instruction time is spent. Federal funding is on the line if a child is below grade level in math, but there is no consequence if they know nothing about history. No immediate consequence, that is. Students with no understanding of past world wars can hardly be expected to prevent a future one.

Now this dismay might cause some to jump in and become a teacher to save the world, eradicating ignorance one child at a time! Unfortunately I was born without much patience, which totally disqualifies me. It really does take a special set of skills to cope with the demands of 30 kids all day everyday. I don't have those skills, so I am complaining here. I just wish history was valued enough to be a serious part of the curriculum; until then, at least we have Billy Joel.

Wedding Day

2010-10-05T14:53:00.000-07:00

Enjoy the pics from my Dad's wedding! He was recently married to a sweet woman named Christel in Salt Lake. They are from the same town in California, and their parents were good friends, but the two never met until this year. Christel spends half the year in Puerta Vallarta, and we are looking forward to visiting!

Back-To-School

2010-09-24T18:36:00.000-07:00

I always loved going back to school- and still do. I don't get the new notebooks or shoes anymore, but I'm excited for my kids to learn things and watch them grow. Kate is off to kindergarten and is learning to read! Emma devours chapter books and is learning her times tables. Sierra is loving junior high this year (an oxymoron, I know), and is a superstar at math and science. I love watching them. The only downside to the school year is that my brain is taxed with everything I am supposed to do and remember. Here's a sample:

The Back to School To Do List:
-Spend ridiculous sums on backpacks, shoes, clothes, lunch accounts, haircuts, fees, activity sign-ups, PTA dues, and school supplies.
-Keep kids organized for school. Make Sierra write in her planner, make Kate wear the right color of shirt during color week, be glad Emma can remember on her own to wear green and ride her scooter during safety week. Send box tops during the box top contest, send frozen rolls for the yeast science experiement, buy fabric for the sewing project, go to back to school night, help kindergartners at computer lab, time third graders' times tables, make Sierra practice keyboarding, help Kate learn how to do dot to dots, help Emma make a diorama, and yes, this is true, find a snail to bring for the upcoming Snail Olympics, then offer services as an official timer.
-Get girls going on extracurriculars. Spend hours in car driving kids here and there. Buy ballroom dance shoes, ballet slippers, soccer cleats, ice skates, leotards, tights, shin guards, performance costumes. Cheer at Kate's games, get Sierra in a carpool. Nearly have a heart attack while Emma auditions for the Nutcracker... and makes it!
-Try to feed family. Remember to pack lunches, morning break snacks, make dinners... most of the time.
-Try to get everyone in bed early enough that they will not cry when I wake them up the next morning.
-Add family dinners, meetings, church, writing group, playdates, Dad's wedding...
-Go to the gym to relieve stress... at 5:30 a.m. Try not to cry myself.

Yes, I have noticed the common theme of my posts is "wow, look at all this crazy stuff we crammed in..." Nope, I haven't balanced my world and made everything zen, but I have accepted that everything good comes with a price. Having kids = fun craziness. So, for better or worse, we are back to school!

Last Post of the Summer

2010-08-25T22:37:00.000-07:00

Here's the final summer report. The last trips, the last days to sleep in, swim, and ignore the rest of the world. Here was the itnerary-
#1 trip with extended family to California. We had a blast swimming in the hotel pool, playing in the ocean, and spending a marathon 16 hour day at Disneyland! Best quote of the trip goes to Kate, after her first trip to the ocean, "It was cold, I have sand in my hair, and the water has SALT in it!!!" Before she tried to get her money back, she warmed up to the ocean, and came to love it.
#2- I went on a solo trip to see Leann which was fabulous. We talked more than slept and had a great time. Quote of the trip, from the lady who gave us pedicures, "I've thought about it, and no one will be offended if they read your toes upside down." (She painted the character for harmony on them).
#3- Sierra went on trek. The child who could barely get out of bed a few months ago, pulled a handcart almost 25 miles in three days! A huge victory. She did nearly fall asleep at the dinner table the night she came home though. Quote when Sierra arrived home, "I don't have to keep these clothes, do I?"
#4- Lake Powell. After I roused Sierra from the table, literally right after, I drove her to the airport to meet Rob in Vegas, where he was on business. They drove to Lake Powell and spent a week camping with Jeff, and others. They came home with only about six pictures, so I have no idea what they did really, but I was impressed with the giant Buddha complex they found made out of sand at their campsite. Best text from the trip, "Just wanted you to know there's a big charge on the credit card from when the axel broke off the boat trailer, while the boat was on it..."
#5- While they were at Powell, the little girls came with me and our neighbors to the cabin for an all girls trip. Oh, peace and quiet! No traffic, no cell service, no email, no responsibilities! I was in heaven. We did some school shopping, hiking, eating, four wheeling, watched movies, slept... how I wish I could go back now! I really think I could be a hermit up there forever. Quote of the trip, from me to Emma, "I will pay you five dollars if you can get that squirrel out of the trash can!" Which, bless her heart, she did.

Moral of this long rambling story: I may never be caught up on my laundry again.

Degree of Difficulty

2010-08-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

If you are a diver, diving off the side of the pool is easy. It becomes more difficult when you dive from the diving board; do a back flip off a ten foot platform and you have substantially increased your degree of difficulty. This works for moms too. Having family for dinner is easy. Packing up your family to visit relatives is more difficult. Packing the whole family, a step-brother flying in from Russia, a big dog, plus clothes and camping gear, drive to the middle of Wyoming over the 4th of July weekend without a DVD player, oh and stop and get your daughter from Girls' Camp on the way, and clean up vomit in the car twice to get to a family reunion- well, that degree of difficulty rivals the 10 foot platform backflip.

But we did it, and even had fun. Once the car no longer smelled like vomit, that is. We stayed in cabins at Louis Lake, then went into town for two nights of fireworks, and fulfilled Grandma Hart's last wish that both sets of kids all get together for a family reunion. It is interesting because this family was created with marriage, divorce, re-marriage, adoption, and birth, but mostly just by a willingness to be family. The kids don't undesrtand that the adults didn't grow up together, all they know is that they are cousins and every 4th of July they get together for a lot of food, mind blowing fireworks, and a chance to play at Grandpa's house.

We played at the lake, formed a polar bear club by swimming in the freezing water, went horseback riding (The kids, minus allergic Sierra, took turns being led around a meadow, but Rob and I took Emma and our niece on an hour long trail ride which was fun even though I got the ornery horse), went hiking, had campfires, played volleyball, and even had sack races. We missed Grandma Hart dearly. It is strange to be in Wyoming and not see her, but she would have been proud of us. In fact, I'm sure she is proud of us. We got a 10.

Last Child Syndrome

2010-07-11T22:11:00.000-07:00

I was the baby of the family growing up. That means while your siblings may think that you always get your way and have it easy (okay, sometimes you do) it really means terribly tramatizing things like having to wear hand me down underwear and not having any pictures of yourself. So, and I'm sure it is subconsciously, this past month I seem to have taken a lot of pictures of Kate in an effort to make sure she doesn't suffer as I did. She also has lots and lots of new underwear.

The other reason I think I took a lot of pictures of Kate is that I see everyday that my baby is not a baby anymore! She graduated from preschool, she went to soccer camp, had her first ballet recital, she has friends over all the time, she just lost her first tooth!!! She is still little enough that she plays make believe (particularly house where all the characters are animals) and snuggles me, but I see how close she is to outgrowing all of that. *sigh*

Emma makes an appearance in the pictures because she of course, was in the recital too. Her class is no longer a group of tiny dancers that hop around. Her class is really, really dancing now. When did that happen? They go to Clytie Adams and they always do a great job. The girls get to dance on a full stage with live music, which is a great experience. And when they are not onstage, they are entertained in another theatre by a magician. Kate giggled for days about the magician's jokes, so he must have been good. That Clytie has things down to a science.

During this time, Rob was off at Scout camp and Sierra went to Space camp, then Girls' Camp. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of any of those because I wasn't there, but the report I get is that they both had fun. Especially Sierra at Space camp, despite being stranded in the airport for a day and having her luggage lost, she had a marvelous time. She assures me that the marvelous time had nothing to do with all the older teenage boys in her group, and everything to do with the learning experiences. Uh huh. Girls' Camp was also fun, but minus the cute boys.

So at last count, there are only six more weeks of summer. Summer vacation is officially half over. I am okay with that because truth be told, I am exhausted. The lazy days of summer involve an awful lot of driving around, cleaning up, and staying up late. But in six weeks, I will have ALL SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN. This puts me in a whole new category of life. I am excited because I think that means I get to shower more often, etc, but it also means that my children are half grown and I am old. *sigh*

ps- recital video below

The Signs of Spring

2010-06-04T19:54:00.001-07:00

Despite the fact that we have had almost constant rain, it is actually spring! I don't mind the rainy weather much, and I love how green everything is because of it, but I am happy to report that it is mostly sunny at the moment!

The signs of spring at our house, besides the tulips and lilacs, are the inaugual game of mini golf, the first s'mores of the season, and of course, the Spring Ice Show. This year the theme was A Night At the Movies. Emma's group was the munchkins from the Wizard of Oz. She had a great time, as always, and was ready to perform more than the three nights. After spending five nights in a row at the ice rink with the dress rehersals, I was ready to be done! Emma performed a loop jump and a sit spin for the first time in her spotlight, and did an awesome job. I wish I had her nerves of steel! Both of her grandpas were able to come, and our neighbors, which she was so happy about.

Sierra made it back to school full time this spring too, although not without difficulty, as she has had to deal with nerve pain after surgery and loads of homework. She has been improving a lot very recently though, in large part because we found a great acupunturist. Acupuncture has been amazing for her pain, and something I hadn't considered until we reached our utmost limits (her with pain, me with frustration). The upside of all this is that we have spent a lot of time together, at dozens of doctors' appointments, and plowing through the seventh grade curriculum. I am happy to be back up to speed on Punett squares and first year Spanish.

But my favorite part of spring has been the flowers. I love to see the bulbs come up, and was thrilled that five years after planting, my lilac bush finally, finally bloomed! I have tons of yardwork ahead, which I never seem to get to, but that is spring!

My Posse

2010-04-26T08:23:00.000-07:00

So the camera is really dead now. And I am not technie enough yet to figure out how to upload my pictures from my camera (or even really if I would be downloading them??). Which leaves us with, or really you, with only one new picture- a huge giant banner picture of my family. Just what you were hoping for!

I was even going to upload/download (choose the appropriate word) new video, but I could not find the video camera. I couldn't ask my family though, because I had a sneaking suspicion that it was really lost. After a week of holding my breath, the rec center called my husband saying they found it. Lucky they found it, but I was embarassed, I wish they would have called me!

The last month was a blur, but the thought that stands out is how different I thought parenting would be than it actually is. Long ago, I imagined reading to my kids (I always imagined boys), and playing Clue with them, Rob playing soccer with them, taking them on trips, and because they were boys, they would mow the lawn. I figured I would have to take my kids in for stitches and casts, but never MRIs or endoscopes. And I hadn't planned on girls.

Instead of washing soccer uniforms, I do two loads of pink laundry a week. Instead of scrubbing grass stains out of jerseys, I glue crystals to costumes. I flat iron hair at breakfast. And while we have made hundreds of trips to the doctor, there have been no stitches and no casts.

I at least read to my kids, but I only have one left who doesn't read on her own. In my imagination, we happily read at bedtime, which we do, except it is always past bedtime, and we are engaged in full scale negiotiations.
Me- "We can read two books."
K- "No, I need three books."
Me- "How about two books and a song?"
K-"Hmmm, two books and two songs- in the rocking chair."
Me- "We'll do two books, and one song in the rocking chair, but you have to be glued to your bed for the rest of the night. Deal?"
K- "Deal. I just need some graham crackers."
Oh my! On it goes. The whole bedtime process is not always the Hallmark cuddly moment as much as it is training for my youngest to practice corporate law.

Well trips then, certainly we have those. Sortof, they always seem to involve our extended family (who we love!) but I have yet to take my kids on a real family vacation, National Lampoon's style.

And Clue... we don't even own it. I gave up after Candyland nearly turned into a brawl... maybe when they are older... and then there is mowing the lawn. Well, my only child old enough has a severe allergy to grass.

But my girls are fantastic at planting flowers and telling me if my shoes match my outfit. They also notice when I get my hair cut, or wear a new shirt. They watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants with me (the PG one) and are the best shopping buddies I have ever had. They want to help cook, and make cards for me on my birthday. Once I was at a store with my three girls and the clerk, who was pregnant with her second said, "oh I hope this baby is a girl so I can have my own posse too!" My posse, my entourage, they make me feel like a rock star. Too bad paparazzi don't mow lawns.

What Doesn't Kill You Can Still Make You Crazy

2010-03-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

As you can tell, I am an advocate of the power of positive thinking... oh wait, I meant to say that I am an advocate of the power of eating Girl Scout cookies when you feel crazy to make things seem positive, yes I think that is it!

So it has been another month since I have posted, funny how that happens. So our daughter is mostly working, as is our computer, but the bank is working out the best of all. It took me about two months to finally get all the banking squared away, with opening new accounts and setting up the bill pay, and ordering checks, and installing new software because I thought it was time to upgrade, etc. I love having everything automated, but I forgot what a pain it is to get everything automated, especially when your computer is dying a slow and painful death. I also forgot what a pain it was to live without a computer!

The daughter has been harder to fix, she improved for a while, and is struggling again. After many phone calls, Sierra is scheduled for a scope next Tuesday, which I am hoping will provide an answer and put an end to her suffering, and my anxiety of trying to figure out how to help her. She has done a good job of keeping up with school though, which has not been easy.

Emma is doing well. She rocked her reading test, ending up fifth in her class, and has practiced enough that triple digit addition "is easy!" She had some scary asthma attacks with a bout of strep, but in typical Emma fashioned, moved ahead and landed her first loop jump in skating four days later.

Kate turned five last month!!! We celebrated all day long, with treats at gymnastics, treats at preschool, a party at Teddy Bear Builders after school, dinner at Noodles, and cake before bed. I was exhausted, but the kid had literally been planning her birthday everyday for the last seven months, so I had to oblige. She was equally excited for Leprechaun Day yesterday, wearing head to toe green and spent much of the afternoon trying to trap leperchauns with a friend.

I celebrated my birthday this month, and it was fantastic. The night before Rob took me out to Tepanyaki, always great. And I have learned that nobody knows what I want as well as moi, so the next day I treated myself to what I was hoping for- a new purse, a trip to the spa, and a new book, how did I know? I topped it off with dinner out with the family, phone calls with family and a weekend at the cabin with the Duncans where we had chocolate cheesecake, went sledding, and played pool.

Only been one month and this post sounds like a Christmas letter, sad! My big birthday wish is to have a boring year. We'll see how that works out...

A Christmas, A Baptism, An Appendix, A Bank Run and a Motherboard

2010-02-06T19:15:00.000-08:00

Where to begin? I probably could have blogged a thousand times since the last time I posted. But because I have so much to say, of course that also means I had no time to blog about it!

Christmas was great, six weeks in the making for me, so I enjoy it immensely, then move on. We found a great Christmas tree this year, went and saw the Nutcracker, Emma and Kate performed in the Christmas Ice Show, and we went to the Here Comes Santa Clause concert at the Utah Symphony, where the kids got to sit on Santa's lap, and make their own tamborines that they got to shake along with the music. We learned that Santa plays the tuba! Who knew? I went with my neighbor to The Messiah, which is my favorite part of the whole season. Grandpa Hart came to stay and we all went sledding on Christmas Eve with cousins. That night we went to Tracy's and had dinner, presents, and watched the Nativity movie that all the kids made about four years ago, when Kate was the baby Jesus, it was hilarious. Christmas morning brought goodies for everyone, then we went and had dinner at my brother's. It was a great time, but one of my favorite memories was the day after Christmas, laying around in my new pjs reading my new book all day- now that is a holiday!

At the end of the year we went to Gateway to shop and see the Alvin and the Chipmunks Squeakquel, which was HIGHLY anticipated at our house by the smallest member of our family. Her number in the ice show was a chipmunks song, and she and the other kids dressed like the chipmunks and chippettes, and they stole the show. She ate up the applause and has been pretending to be a chipette ever since. Unfortunately, Sierra wasn't feeling well while we walked around. I ended up taking her in on New Year's Eve, and she was sent home with Miralax...

Meanwhile, I am running around getting ready for Emma's baptism on the 2nd. Shopping for food, getting her white dress dry cleaned, trying to get my kids to practice the song they sang, getting pictures of her ready, preparing the program. The day of the baptism comes and we get a phone call that the water heater in our stake center was broken, so we could reschedule or go ahead in freezing cold water. Well, we had family come in from out of state, so rescheduling is not an option, but neither is freezing cold water in January for my little asthmatic! So we asked for a new church, which we found, but then we had to call everyone for the change of time and venue. The baptism itself was perfect, as was the program. It was just perfect. We had everyone over to eat afterwards, and all was well until 7:30, when Emma, who had been feeling absolutely fine, started throwing up, and continued all night. I was wracking my brain- what happened? It couldn't have been the food because nobody else got sick, and she wasn't sick at all before. But then, we realized, what had Emma done that day that no one else had? Been immersed in a tank of warm water that had been used all day to dunk other kids. I would bet money that one of them was sick and got baptized anyway. Maybe we would have been better off in the freezing cold water!

The next day Sierra was really sick. Was it the same as Emma? Not really. I was still pushing Miralax, sure that it would work its magic and she will suddenly feel so much better... I stay up until three in the morning with her, and I do wonder if I should take her to the emergency room, but they took an x-ray, and I think I know what is wrong. Next day comes, and she feels better but I call her regular doctor anyway who wants to see her the next morning.

In we go, and lo and behold! Looks like it is appendicitus! We went to the hospital and she got a CT scan that showed not only did she have appendicitus, she had a ruptured appendix. I felt relieved just to know what was going on, and relieved that it was, I thought, a pretty easy fix. Pop out the appendix, and you are good to go... or so I thought. Sierra ended up in the hospital for four days on IV antibiotics. The surgeon wanted to delay surgery so the inflammation would go down and reduce the risk of damage to her large intestine. Apparently this is something new, that ruptured appendixes are drained, or treated with antibiotics, to improve the outcome at the time of surgery. Well, okay, I am all for that, especially because Sierra improved so much so quickly. And her white blood cell count was normal, and she had never had a fever... so she was discharged and we went home. I was glad because the little kids couldn't come to the hospital, and it was really hard to go back and forth between home and the hospital. Sierra had a great weekend, but we were back in the ER three days after discharge because of pain, and she was sent home again.

I felt unsettled, this was not the easy diagnosis I thought it was, she was not recovering like I thought she should. Finally, we drove to Primary Children's at 11:00 one night. I had no idea what to expect. I didn't even know why I felt like that was the night. Sierra at the time wasn't in any pain. She was pale and not eating well, and had intermittent pain, but she was laughing and joking with me. I was afraid they would send us home again. At first, even Primary's wasn't sure what to do. It took six hours, but finally, finally, she was scheduled for surgery the next day. We slept two hours that night.

Surgery day comes, Sierra talks with all the nurses, seems comfortable, showers, and we head down. I meet the surgeon, who thinks her appendix was ruptured (this was a hotly debated issue) and that surgery will take about an hour.

Four hours later, I feel panicked because I am still in the waiting room. I have gotten occasional calls saying she is fine, but they are not done yet. What are they doing?! Finally the surgeon comes out to talk to me. He shakes my hand and says, "That was really something." Apparently! I go to the recovery room, and my heart just breaks. I put the soft teddy bear I bought while I waited in her arms and she clutches it tight, moaning, without moving or opening her eyes.

We walk back to her room. The nurses were shocked, "Grade 5?" they all asked in disbelief. Jana calls and asks how things went. I can barely talk. She asks if she should come. All I can squeak out is "yes." I wait until Jana arrives and Sierra is settled to cry. Poor little girl! I did not ever imagine this. Her appendix was ruptured, a grade 5, which is as bad as it gets. She had a large abcess, the consistency of concrete, weighing it down. Her abdomen was full of fluid, and after performing the operation laproscopically, they had to open her up to right down the middle to put in stiches because the laproscopic staples wouldn't hold. She lay there, with an IV, a cathether, a pain pump, two abdominal drains, four incisions, and an NG tube down her throat, which along with the soreness from the ventilator, made her unable to speak.

We spent eight more days in the hospital, for a total of 12; every day a new tube was removed, and a new milestone reached. But, in reality, Sierra was like an infant again. She could not talk, eat, stand, dress or bathe herself at first. A day at a time it came back, but this was no quick fix. Finally she came home, with one abdominal drain, and a PICC line in her arm so she could receive IV antibiotics at home. She lost ten pounds. We were met at the door by a home health care nurse, and I learned that even though I had not slept through the night in two weeks, I would not get to sleep yet because the antibiotics needed to be hooked up every six hours, and take 45 minutes to drip through, so I was up from 11-12 every night, and from 5-6 every morning.

We now are much better off. No tubes, no more antibiotics, and we have a home bound teacher coming to be the liasion with the school, and to help get Sierra back up to speed with homework, as she as already missed 5 weeks of school, and will miss most of one more. But the home nurse is gone, and I can sleep again! Sierra has struggled with nausea and pain, but things are finally really looking up.

In the meantime, our bank closed. Not sold, closed. Taken over by the FDIC and closed. That is another post, but while I was living at the hospital, I was bankless, and it was the strangest thing. It took quite a bit of work to get everything switched over, over a week and about 7 trips to the banks. Then, and I wish I could make this all up, our computer dies, the motherboard is dead, and something else, some kind of element. So, I write this on my little netbook, with no access to pictures or a printer. And I would post pictures from my camera of the baptism, etc, but my memory stick apparently is also on strike and will not work. Jana once told me that I have the luck of Job. I think she may be right. But honestly, I am grateful to everyone who helped us out, for that I feel really blessed. Gramma flew up to help. Neighbors babysat and made dinner for Rob and the girls while I was gone. Tracy and Myrinda helped Sierra do her science project from her hospital bed (got an A!) People brought treats, and sent cards, and called Sierra. Family sent emails to her at the hospital, cards, and sent ballons. Julianne came to do my laundry and brought me Cheesecake Factory. Jana helped calm Sierra that first night (and me too). People prayed and prayed for her, and her name was in five temples. My brother came to give her a blessing with Rob. Sierra said she didn't know she was so loved!

So, we have decided to follow the advice of Elder Wirthlin, who said, "Come what may, and love it." That saying hangs on my wall and pretty much covers it all. Bad luck, I have plenty. But there is always something beautiful that comes out of it. This time, it was for Sierra to see how loved she is, and the rest of us too. And, interestingly, I had the chance to care for Sierra in a way that I never got to before, because she wasn't mine when she was little, so we are closer now too. And, really, we are lucky that she has had a good outcome. As bad as it was, if Sierra had lived 100 years ago, she would be dead; even now, if she lived in a very rural area, or in a developing nation, she probably would be dead. We love that despite all the drama and difficulty, Sierra will be just fine- that, we love.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-10T21:41:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas! We hope 2009 treated you well. The year has flown by, and the kids are growing fast. Here's what we have been up.

Rob is now in his tenth year of teaching and has added flag rugby to the sixth grade curriculum, which the boys and girls alike love. He finished a brick patio on the side of the house which turned out beautifully. Rob is still avidly playing mens' league soccer, and recruited most of our neighborhood to play pick-up on Saturday mornings, and he only lost one front tooth to soccer this year.

I, Susie, became the Relief Society President in our ward (church congregation) last January, which has kept everyone in the family busy. The job entails lots of meetings and lots of visits to people, and particularly helping meet welfare needs. It is a big job that never actually gets done, but it is also rewarding to be able to help people obtain food, clothing, and other things that they are in need of. Emma asked a few days ago how much I got paid to do it, and was shocked to find out that I am paid nothing! I did make time in November to participate in a contest called National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMO. The goal is to write a novel in a month, 50,000 words in 30 days, no editing or revising. I finished, which was exciting, and want to do it again next year. The rest of the family is not so sure they are up for it...

Sierra finished up sixth grade in the spring, and danced for the elementary school ballroom team. She earned money all year to spend a week at space camp in Alabama last summer. It was an amazing experience and she plans to return. Before starting junior high, Sierra and her cousin hosted a big back to school party for their friends. Sierra is now swimming on the swim team, babysitting often for me and for the neighbors, surviving allergy shots, and doing lots and lots of homework.

Emma is in second grade this year. She has kept up with her ballet and figure skating lessons, and getting to perform often, which she loves. Emma competed three times at ice skating competitions and performed in two shows. Her hard work always pays off, and she has yet to be nervous in front of a crowd! For her birthday party later this month, you guessed it, she decided to go ice skating with her friends. Emma has also become a great reader and helper around the house. She also loves to spend time with her friends.

Kate is in her last year of preschool. Kate is always very busy. She loves to play with her friends and to bake things, especially cupcakes. Kate decided she wants to try everything the older girls have, so she has taken up ballet and gymnastics, and tells her dad that she wants to play soccer when she is big enough. Kate also likes to perform in ice shows, which she has done a few times this year. Where she gets her energy when she spends most of her time sick is beyond us! She got a set of tubes in her ears and had her adenoids out, which we are all helping will help keep our tiny Kate healthier so she can keep doing the things she loves.

As a family we took a fun trip to Lake Powell this summer, visited family in Phoenix for Easter, spent the Fourth in Wyoming, and Thanksgiving in Cedar City where the boys played football, the girls did a little competitive shopping, the kids played with their cousins; everyone got to ride ATVS and Emma earned a new nickname "Annie Oakley" for her target shooting.

We were very sad to say goodbye to Grandma Hart this year, but enjoyed all the time we were able to spend with her and with other family before she had to go. Overall though, we have many blessings to be grateful for, including all of you. We hope that you have a wonderful holiday season!

Rob, Susie, Sierra, Emma & Kate

This Is Halloween

2009-11-16T17:12:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure I used the same title last year, but since that is the only Halloween song I know of, it comes to mind automatically. And I do love the Nightmare Before Christmas, even back before it was owned by Disney, I was enamoured by Jack and Sally.
Halloween was fun this year, much simpler than years past because we only went to school parties, and no others, I only bought one costume, and we grew our own pumpkins. Sierra was waffling about whether or not to trick or treat because we told her this would be her last year, in the end she went with her little sisters and we put together a vampire costume from years past. Emma decided she wanted to be Thing 2 of Dr. Seuss's Cat In The Hat fame, and our next door neighbor was Thing 1. They borrowed the costumes from her cousin, and the girls were very cute. Kate wanted to be a scary witch, but when it came down to it, the scary costumes were not very much fun, but the hot pink/silver sparkly Barbie witch costume was TONS of fun, so Kate was a glam witch, which suited her personality much better anyway. Rob was a pirate, and trick or treated with our girls, and the next door neighbor's girls and their dad who was dressed as Frankenstein. Rob was also sweet enough to bring Kate around with him during the elementary school costume parade, which Kate loved. We are one of the few elementary schools left anywhere that still has a costume parade, which I think is really sad because the kids have so much fun, for them it competes with trick or treating in excitement.
The day after Halloween (every year) is November 1st. This year that meant the first day of NaNoWriMo- aka National Novel Writing Month. I signed up this year determined to finish. I had an outline ready (legal- but writing before the 1st is not) and my netbook ready. I made a calendar that tells me how many words I need done each day. The goal is 50,000. Today, Novemeber 16th, I am at a little over 20,000, which is a little behind (I need 26,672 before bedtime) but I know I will finish, which is very exciting, even if my first novel is, in NaNoWriMo lingo a craptastic volume that "sets new records for suckitude." I can do craptastic!

Cliff Notes

2009-10-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

We've been doing a little of this and a little of that. But no matter what, it never slows down. I've been thinking a lot lately about how being an adult is a lot different than I thought as a kid. For some reason, I was sure that adults were always bored. Well, I can honestly say that I have not been bored in over a decade. And I have learned that you really never know what is coming next.

So much has happened in the last three weeks that I'm going to boil it down to the Cliff Notes version of life Templeton. Get ready to follow my stream of consciousness... conference weekend at the cabin with fam, Dad and my cousin Jared, 12th anniversay celebrated with dinner at the Roof in SLC (view of temple & city) a fun quick two day trip to Phoenix with Jana while she took her Pediatric Boards (also I think the only time I have been alone for more than 20 minutes in the last decade!), Rob got his permanent crown on front tooth, got a little netbook in preparation for Nanowrimo next month (National Novel Writing Month 30 days- 50,000 words), passed out six donation boxes for women's shelter, Kate on steroids (watch out!!!) planted 50 bulbs, 1 rose bush, 3 flats of pansies, and pulled my weight in weeds, trying to sell van, picked out new car, extended Templeton family pictures Emma got stung by a bee while waiting but smiled anyway, Humanitarian Night at RS (we're making procedure dolls/gowns for Primary Children's Hospital- kids use them to understand what is happening to them, assembled hygiene kits and school kits for the Humanitarian Center, and planned some new projects), watched poor Sierra devote every waking moment to her mountain of homework, drove to allergyshots/swimming/skating/ballet/gymnastics, finally got the front room floor installed, Emma brought home her first big chapter book from the library ( it was as big a milestone for me as riding a bike- I let her stay up late to read), and finally, cried with my friend and 1st counselor who lost her beautiful first baby just three weeks before his due date. Our whole neighborhood chipped in to send a beautiful white flower arrangement to the viewing yesterday. The whole experience reminded me how everything we have is a gift, and our time to enjoy them is short, sometimes, painfully short.

It turns out I married a hick

2009-09-30T20:06:00.000-07:00

As hard as I tried to leave Wyoming, I found myself staring it in the face last Thursday night when Rob came home from indoor soccer. This men's league has now cost us one knee surgery, 14 stiches, and a new front tooth. A ball whacked Rob in the jaw (thankfully no damage there) and took half of his front tooth with it. After falling to the ground, and "graying" out, Rob got up and finished the game. I have to hand it to him, that is devotion. I am hard pressed to think of anything I would keep at in that situation. As a result of the hick makeover, Rob found himself in the dentist chair on Friday morning, and I found myself in my first gig as a substitute teacher giving sixth graders a spelling test. At first they stared at me like I was an animal in a zoo, after all, I am the teacher's wife, which is pretty mysterious in grade school. I wasn't there too long before it was lunchtime and I had to run Kate to preschool. I called Rob before I left to make sure there wouldn't be any problems with me leaving, and the dentist answered. He said Rob had his mouth full, but he would have him on his way in 15 more minutes, and that he did a bang up job breaking that tooth. I had to agree with him there!

I rushed Kate to preschool after a hurried McDonald's lunch, then went off to buy birthday presents for Sierra for her 13th birthday. That's right, I am the mother of a teenager! Sierra informed me the night before her birthday that she was going to wake up the next day and be a brat because now she is a teenager. Well, that didn't happen, thankfully. We celebrated her birthday with a dinner at Rodizo's Brazilian steakhouse, which all the kids loved because it is such a fun place to go. They sang to Sierra in Portuguese, complete with bongo drums and tamborine and she got a free flan. (Should have taken a picture, but I was too shy to ask!) We opened presents that night, with Sierra's favorite by far being her new cell phone. It is a nice phone, but on a prepaid plan, so after my initial load-up, she is in charge buying her minutes. I went this route after hearing the story from Julianne about her boss's daughter ringing up a $1300 cell phone bill. Yikes! We waited until Saturday for cake because we were all bursting at the seams from Rodizo's. On Saturday Sierra and her friends went to see Fame and hung out at the mall. We also watched 2 PG-13 movies that weekend in honor of her new privilege of watching PG-13s, a long coveted honor.

The week before this one was busy too. It started for me in ward council meeting, when suddenly the flu, or something awfully like hit, hit me hard. I rarely get sick enough to stay in bed, but I couldn't get out of bed for almost 2 days. But, as you can see from my nightstand picks, I did get a lot of reading done. Emma was feeling poorly too, so I just let her stay home because I figured if she felt like I did, she deserved to. And of course, Kate had a sinus infection the same week, so we had another round of antibiotics and a doctor's visit between naps. We rallied to make it to the Oktoberfest skating competition. Emma got a third place medal, and now she'll be changing her routinue. I also let Kate compete because she wanted to and I figured it wouldn't be any harder to have two there than one. Well, I was wrong about that. I could not find a costume for Kate (she is so tiny) and the seamstress couldn't make one because she had another project and one I found on the internet couldn't get here in time. So I did what all insane people do, I decided to make a costume. I figured, hey I have a sewing maching, I can figure this out. Well, I didn't figure on getting the flu, so this big project became an emergency that kept me up all night the night before handsewing this thing when my sewing machine kept jamming. Well, my little girl had a yellow costume. That's about all I can say. It kindof fell apart when I took it off of her, and you will notice that there are no close-up pictures of it. But I earned my Mother's Day flowers this year. And I decided that yes, it really is harder to have two kids in the same competition. And I am no seamtress. But note the beautiful cake I made filled with pudding was a success, so I guess I have a touch of domesticity in me somewhere.

The Last Hurrahs

2009-09-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

Nope, we are still not quite to school yet, but I'm going to post a mass of pictures, so next time you can get the skinny on our new school year. In the last weeks before summer ended, we had several fun outings. We went to Garnder Village and, in addition to pony rides, oodles of salt water taffy, we bought a new dining room table. This was a touch decision because we have had Rob's Grandma's table and chairs in our kitchen for the last five years. The table was beautiful with carved feet for legs. Unfortunately, the chairs were all dying slow painful deaths. One had a broken arm that was glued back on, one Kate dubbed the "lucky chair" because it squeaked like crazy (not sure why that is lucky). Another we called the magician's chair because the seat popped off, so you could jump out. And yet another was the rocking chair because the four legs were no longer connected with the T piece that is so important, making it very mobile. The kids were disappointed at first with the new table, because the chairs had no names and no personality, but we've all come to love our new comfy set-up. (Sorry- all that jabber and no picture of the table! Guess you'll just have to come for dinner)

We also went swimming at the rec center, finished up summer gymnastics, hung out with my family for Juliet's husband's birthday, got to go out to dinner with Rosie and Jana (we have to make that a tradition!), and spent two days at the cabin (forgot camera, but sleep a lot- yeah). I also put on a baby shower for my neighbor, which ended up with a huge turn-out. I also got the RS closet cleaned out, and I just had to post the greatest treasure that I found in, no it wasn't the baby bath, the gallon of soy sauce, or the charcoal- it was the handmade cannon lamp. Now who would leave that behind?

On the 24th of July, Emma got to be in the parade in Bountiful for the Rec Center, and we went to the REal Game. It was a great game that Rob had to miss because he went to work in Reno, but the score was 0-2 at half-time, but we ended up winning 4-2- that never happens in soccer! We also got to watch my niece scrimmage with her team before the game, and see fireworks afterwards. Oh, and the Real coach got a red card- that was exciting. I texted Rob the updates all during the game.

Last Saturday we also went to Lagoon. We usually only go once a year, but the kids have so much fun, we may get season passes next year. They love it because they spend the whole day playing with us. Sierra brought a friend (one of Rob's former students too) so they could go on all the sickening rides together, leaving the grown-ups nausea free (largely anyway). Kate talks about "the Magoon" almost every single day, and we never even made it to the water park! And that, my friends, is why I'm so excited that school started! I'm exhausted!

Bad Blogger

2009-08-23T22:04:00.000-07:00

All my good intentions to update every week have gone the way of all my other good intentions, like to stop eating chocolate, to be on time, to weed more, to exercise more, to go to bed earlier- right out the window. But I am going to hurry and squeeze in most of my summer pictures before Labor Day- not too hard since I have forgotten my camera a lot this summer!

Here are the pics from our trip to Lake Powell in June. The weather was perfect, except when my dad, Kate, Emma, and I were waiting at the dock to be picked up in the boat by Rob. For the 15 minutes it took to load the boat, we were pelted by cold rain and hurricane force winds. Then it stopped and stayed beautiful the rest of the time. We swam, and hiked around, ate a lot, went on the jetski, Rob and Sierra waterskiied, cliff jumped, and had a great time. I love being able to truly relax in a place with no phone. Rob's parents hosted a big crew, Rob's sister and family, his brother, an employee, a friend, with my dad, Sierra's best friend and her family, and of course, us. These pictures only represent a fraction of all of us who were there, but since tomorrow is the first day of school, and if you ever hope to see those pictures, we're going to have to move through the material quickly people!

Summertime Stuff

2009-07-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

I am feeling very proud of myself. Not only did I post new pictures, I posted video. I'll stop for a minute while you take that in. Yes, I now have a youtube account with my very own videos on it. It only took me three days to finally get it all set. No, it is not really that hard, but it takes 10 minutes or so for each video to load and I kept putting on the wrong ones. But at long last I think I got it figured out and am feeling very technie. The videos are of the skating competition last weekend- more on that next time.

So, Emma had her ballet recital last month. Unfortunately, it was the same week as our trip to Lake Powell, so Sierra and Rob and Sierra's friend headed down on the weekend, and the little girls and I had a shorter trip to the Lake. I'm sure many of you think its crazy to miss Lake Powell for a ballet recital, but I have to explain about this recital. Granted, Emma is onstage for all of 3 minutes, but, it is the only recital they have all year. And they perform at a university theater, with a live orchestra. The second week of June here, this is THE event in town. The show has two casts and if you haven't bought your tickets when they go on sale at 10 am, you might not get seats. I wish I was kidding! I happened to drop by the in-laws office the day tickets went on sale, and I had forgotten. Someone there was talking about it and I panicked, it was already 11:20! I ended up with two tickets in the balcony, and I invited Jana (thanks for coming!). Pheww, I thought, I'll get to watch- my kid won't be scarred for life (over this).

The day of dress rehearsal, Kate really wanted to be able to see the show. Kids under 5 technically aren't allowed, and you have to pay to watch dress rehearsal (no, I'm serious). So I decided to see if I could buy three tickets from someone, then sell my two. I got some phone numbers and set to work. The next night I find myself meeting a strange man who's scalping ballet recital tickets in the parking lot of Subway (again, I'm serious). For all the craziness, it was a fantastic show. The theme was "Utah", which sounds dull, but they did some very creative things. Like dancing seagulls eating little dancing crickets. Emma was a Salt Flat Racer, and had a great time performing, as always. We got a blizzard after the show, then went to bed so we could leave for Powell the next day. Oh, the things we do for our kids.

I also posted some pictures of the side patio Rob is working on- hurrah! We planted our garden around the edge of it, and next year I'll landscape. My dad also let us borrow his inflatable pool, which has been so much fun for the kids. They have gone out to swim just every day that it hasn't been raining. One day Emma swam for five hours! That kid has supercharged batteries, I tell you.

Tagged

2009-07-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

Since I am too lazy to find my camera and post my new pictures, I thought I would play catch up. I have been tagged several times and just never seem to get around to responding. So here are the two I remember- I will post my sixth picture in my sixth folder, and I will let you all know what I have been doing for the last 20 years, so sit tight.

5 minutes ago: stuffing envelopes for Rebekah's baby shower

5 hours ago: eating taco soup made by Rob for dinner and thinking about how I should really get those invites printed. Also, leaving a message for the birthday girl, Jana.

5 days ago: just arrived in Wyoming for the 4th of July extravaganza. Sorry everyone I did not see there! It was a very short trip because we had to get back to pick up Sierra from the airport, coming home from space camp. I spent that day sleeping, and sleeping, and reading my new book about the plague, eating Tony's pizza and preparing my first elk roast (actually very tasty).

5 weeks ago: enduring the last week of school, with a million details, picnics, plays, graduations, and a kid with mono and the ear infection that would not end, etc.

5 months ago: my hazing period of relief society, experiencing my first everything- funeral, lesson, stake meeting, food order, etc.

5 years ago: pregnant with Kate, craving taffy everyday. We had just moved into the house we now live in. Emma was finishing her second round of potty training, and Sierra moved in that summer. We got Abby the cat and got ourselves settled in our new town.

10 years ago: Rob and I were working at Camp Vega for (rich) girls. I made good money that summer running the office, and I made fantastic friends. Rob spend the summer teaching waterskiing, and we lived in Echo Lake Lodge, about 4 feet from the lake. I remember the amazing sunsets and the sound of the loons at night. I came back to start my senior year in college. Rob and I lived in a basement apartment with the weirdest layout ever. I set my potholder on fire in my funny little kitchen. I adored school and wrote two big senior papers that year. One about Chinese propaganda and another about medieval scribes. I got to present the last one at a student conference which was very fun. I played in a Chamber Orchestra that year.

15 years ago: Getting ready to start my junior year of high school. My hair went past my elbows. I worked at China Garden and was saving up to buy my first car. In the meantime I drove my dad's yellow banana truck that sometimes honked randomly. That was the year I cemented my friendship with Leann and we had many, many crazy adventures wearing many, many fantastic thrift shop outfits. We put on the Phantom as the school play and I was a murderess acolyte and got to stab someone onstage. I wrecked a little red car (also my dad's) coming home from a skiing trip with Leann. I had a poem published in some contest, I was writing a missionary, and went to homecoming with John Hoit- and Leann, it is a great picture, someday will post. I believe I received lard for my birthday that year... Listened to A LOT of Siouxise & the Banshees and watched a lot of Conan O'Brien when he was on very, very late at night.

20 years ago: I think I was headed into seventh grade, maybe. I had very tall bangs that I ratted up every morning. I had a crush on a boy named David who once said hi to me at a dance. I owned a water bed and a crazy mix of tapes. Everything from Aerosmith, to Black Crowes, to Peter Cetera to the Cure and, Nelson. If you remember Nelson I commend you. I spent a lot of time watching MTV and reading whatever was on the book shelf (Chaucer and Anne Frank and Lois Duncan) and going to the water park or the mall. I was ultra-suburban. I played volleyball badly and played violin in the orchestra with one of my favorite teachers ever, Mr. Hamilton. My sister started having serious health problems around that time, and I became very independent from that time on. I had braces, big feet, earring that could double for braclets they were so big, and I got to visit NYC that summer. Tag... you are all it.

Some good, some bad

2009-06-16T23:50:00.000-07:00

So, some good news, some bad news. In the good category, my car is finally fixed. I picked it up for the fifth time, and drove it to see Julianne, while it sounded like a helicopter. Jana was with me and can verify that is sounded like we were being pursued the entire way there. But on trip number six to the garage, all is finally, finally well. Except for the cost...
Also good, I have pictures of the Ice Show and of Sixth Grade Graduation. And of course, the night out at Julianne's was very fun. We grilled successfully- kabobs weren't burned, Julianne still has her eyebrows, and I did not blow anything up. Still in the good column, Kate is doing very well with her tubes, everything is "louder," not surprising since the ENT said he had to scrap stuff off of her eardrums to get the tubes in (sorry to the squemish). And I got the playroom put back together. The garage is another story...
So, the bad news I have to report is that we had to put our cat down last Friday. I knew there was nothing else to do, but I was still unprepared for how hard it was. The kids insisted on coming to the vet, although Sierra, Emma and I had to leave before the very end. We buried her in pretty place, and the kids decorated it with rocks and flowers. I hope I never have to do that again.
On that note, we are off to have fun for a few days, we are all ready for a little vacation.

Prometheus

2009-06-02T11:49:00.000-07:00

I think my natural inclination is to complain. Often it isn't even that things bother me so much, but I like to cry about the injustice of it all, then I'm usually just fine. So, if you will indulge me, for a minute, I will then tell you about everything that is fantastic.

Those of you who took mythology from Mr. Patterson (was that even his name?) will remember, well maybe remember- did we actually do work in that class? Anyway, you may remember Prometheus from mythology. He did something to anger the gods and his punishment was to roll a large stone up a mountain, only when he reaches the top, he has to go back down and do it all over again - for eternity. That is the gist of the story, I don't really remember the details, but I felt a kinship with Prometheus the past week or two, and I just know he must have been a complainer too.

The last few weeks, my labor was not to roll the stone up the mountain, but similarly, I had to take my car in four times. It drives just fine, but a sensor is out, so the check engine light comes on. Then they fix it and it is fine for two or three days, then the light comes on again. When I took it back on Saturday, the guy at the counter just started laughing before I had said anything. I told them just to keep it until it was fixed fixed. I must admit I am having a great time driving my father in law's little car. Maybe I don't need a mini van back, maybe this is the universe's way of telling me that I really need leather seats and a sunroof.

My biggest hope is that someday my whole family will be healthy at the same time. But because I am still working off some karmic debt, that day is not today. Sierra has mono, and Kate has drug resistant bacteria in her ears. So, in two weeks time, this has led to three doctor visits, and maybe four phone calls, in addition to four other visits I took my sister, my husband and ward people to. Everytime I walk in the clinic doors, I imagine Prometheus. But I bet he didn't have Tylenol, too bad for him.

If you are still with me, this is where you get to hear about the great stuff. I went to my dad's for Memorial Day, and it was a great trip. School is out on Friday- hurray! We are going to Lake Powell in two weeks. Rob and I went and saw Miss Saigon, which was excellent. My perrenials are all doing well. Rob is finishing the patio. I went to my first cycling class and it was more fun than I expected. My sunflowers have made an appearance. Jana made dinner for us last Saturday, we went to Rob's sister's on Sunday, and with KFC on Friday, that meant three days with no cooking! And finally, I started watching my netflixed Arrested Development episodes, and they really are just as funny as Leann told me they would be, and there is nothing better in the world than a good belly laugh.

Life and Death

2009-05-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

It has been over a month since I posted, so I wasn't sure if I should start with our trip to Phoenix at Easter, or if I should tell you about Cheryl's funeral. Then I realized they go well together. Death and the hope for new life.

Over Spring Break, we went back to Phoenix. When we left, I never looked back, but for the first time this trip I actually missed Arizona. Of course, we were there in April while everything was in bloom, and the temperature was perfect. We went swimming in our old neighborhood pool, and visited Aunt Sessie. I realized that despite the things that I didn't like, there really were a lot of great things, and I don't know if I really appreciated them at the time. So it was a nice reminder to me to pay attention to what is good right now so I don't miss it.

Two weeks after returning home, we got news that Grandma passed away. We knew the end was coming, she lived weeks longer than anyone thought she would, but it was still unbelievably sad to know that she was really gone. There is so much I could say... but it is too much for a blog. It's enough to say that the services were great, and we will always be grateful for what Grandma gave to us, and to everyone. We will miss her terribly, and will always wish we had more time. But I have no doubt that she has moved on to a new kind of life.

~Pictures are coming, but my computer is having serious issues, maybe on Monday...

Going Home

2009-03-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago, the girls and I made a trip home to Lander. The sky was clear and the roads were great. It is fun to pass all of our regular landmarks and see how they have become part of the tradition of heading to Grandma and Grandpa's. There is ice cream at Little America (I know you Landerites are horrified- but it is always late at night or early in the morning when we pass Farson). We hold our breath in the tunnel at Green River, ooh and ahh over the wind mill fields, and the antelope. We drive quickly through scary Rock Springs, and slowly over South Pass. We eat junk food and listen to audio books from the library. This trip our selection was, "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing." It went over so well that Emma is on her fifth listen at night. And we listen to the Killers, and everyone sings along. I love having control over the stereo.

Whenever I drive into Lander for the first time, it takes my breath away. Not that it is so beautiful- well, the mountains are, but the Maverick inn, say, is not- but that I am flooded by so many strong memories all at once. Lander is a place of extremes, the weather and the experience are very intense. You need wool socks and a lot of resilience. My memories are so intense that it takes my breath away. Originally I thought it was the wind, but no.

Our visit with my family was great, although it was hard to get used to being a guest in my old house. Cheryl's sisters and daughter have come to stay for the duration of her illness, so they cook and clean up after all of us like guests, which I wanted to fight, but gave up on. The kids played with cousins they never see, oblivious to the nature of our visit. They put on a talent show, jumped on the tramp, made crafts, and played house. I was so glad for them to have one more trip to Grandma's, one that will cement all the other trips. I got to know Cheryl's children more (three sons were also visiting), visited with my sister and dad, and Cheryl. She is very calm, and happy to have all the commotion, although she is weak. Cheryl has spent years creating a place for family to come, with toys, movies, games, etc. It was bittersweet that what finally brought both of our families all together for the first time in Wyoming, is the end of her life. She fulfilled her dream, all of us around the kitchen table together laughing, but it seems too short. Everyone wants more time with her, but really what brought us step-siblings together was running out of time with her.

A Partridge In A Pear Tree

2009-03-10T23:11:00.000-07:00

I thought I had just updated my blog, but lo and behold, it has been three weeks and when I went to log in, I had forgotten my password. What a sad state of affairs! What I really think it means is that I need a laptop, so I don't have to wait until 10 pm to use the computer. Yes, that is exactely what I think that means!

So what has happened in the last three weeks? Lots of meetings, welfare visits, even more phone calls, plenty of bench warming at the rec center, 350 pages into my new book, my birthday, two doctors' visits, two dinners with Duncans, two lunches with Jana, two phone calls with Leann, one swim meet, one visit to a comedy club, cleaning the temple, one girls' trip to Gateway to see Coraline (scary!) one trip to the vet, one yoga class, four boxes of Girl Scout cookies, one new pair of heels, four ears infected (including the dog), thirteen prescriptions filled (okay, in 30 days, but still...) and a partridge in a pear tree.

As a final note, I have to add what Kate told us at dinner tonight, which is, according to Kate, most definately NOT funny. Kate announced completely seriously during dinner that her friend Brinley's grandma had an octopus come out of her leg. Now that beats a partridge in a pear tree any day.

Am I Still Four?

2009-02-20T15:16:00.000-08:00

So my baby turned four. She woke up announcing that she was four years old. Then the next day she woke up asking, "Am I still four?" Fittingly for Kate, she also had a temp of 102 on her birthday, and had to miss her preschool party, but she rallied with the help of tylenol and ibprofen, and we still made it to the coveted Chuck E Cheese that night. Cousins stopped by for ice cream cake and presents, so in the end, she had a great day. The day after Chuck E Cheese, we had a little party for her friends at McDonald's. This was the easiest party ever, I copied it wholesale from one of her friends. We showed up at playland with balloons, party hats, and cupcakes. The kids played, ate Happy Meals, and opened presents, and ta da, we were done. The birthday girl was in seventh heaven, but we wore her out- she slept until 11:30 the next day!!!

We were planning to go the cabin over President's Day weekend. I was ready for some relaxation because it had been a busy week with food orders, but I got an email on Friday night about a funeral luncheon we needed to do on Monday afternoon... then the little girls ended up with twin sinus infections, so we ended up at home. I had a big moment of panic at the first thought of the funeral, but it ended up just fine. We didn't own any table cloths, and I didn't know what to make, or how much. Jana had me call her mom, who used to do this all the time, and Margaret Murdock saved the day. Monday was a really long day, beginning with morning swim practice, funeral all day, and ended at after hours care with my girls. But in the end I'm glad to have done a funeral, now I know what to do, and it actually worked out well to be on a holiday because I had babysitting all day. The sinus infections, however, I could do without. Two girls who are at each others' throats... there is not enough tylenol in the world to fix that.

We also got some bad news last week. Grandma Hart, who had been with us the week previous to have tests and procedures done, was admitted to the hospital and given the word that the cancer in her liver had returned. She is going into liver failure and only has a few weeks left. Last year she was only given a 20% chance of surviving 5 years, so we all knew that this was a distinct possibility, but she had been doing so well, and we just didn't want to think it was a reality. She has gone home to hospice care, and family from all over have come to visit, so despite the fact that she is so ill, she is enjoying herself. We are planning to visit next week, but hurried one more visit in while she was still here. We recorded her with the girls talking about their favorite memories together, which we will be so grateful to have, but I cried most of the way home. There just aren't enough memories! We are going to miss her terribly.

But to end on a good note, Emma competed in Winter Games at the end of January. Dad skipped work for an hour, and Aunt Jana came to watch Emma get out on the ice by herself and twirl herself to a silver medal. We recorded her, and one of these days I will figure out how to post it on the blog. Way to go Emma!

Note: I lost my camera for a while at Chuck E Cheese, so my pictures are limited, and of limited quality. Next time!

New Year

2009-01-30T19:30:00.000-08:00

On New Year's Eve we welcomed Aunt Jana back from her way too long residency back east. Now she is only 20 minutes away, which has been great; we have already seen her twice this week.

New Year's Day we went to the cabin and enjoyed the serious snowfall there. We went sledding and Rob and I outlasted the kids. We watched the Sugar Bowl there and enjoyed the amazing Utah win.

We came home and got right back into the business of school. And I started learning the ropes of Relief Society. Of which there are many, but it has been good so far. I have learned a lot in the last few weeks... especially about how many things I am thankful for. But it has been crazy busy too. I'm still getting used to the constant phone calls. For a few days I kept wondering why people were telling me the things they were, until I remembered that I was supposed to help do something about it!

I have a blog?

2009-01-15T21:56:00.000-08:00

I was amazed when I realized that I hadn't updated for five weeks. It has been so busy since Thanksgiving, I forgot I had a blog. Now it has been so long, if I didn't have pictures, I may not even remember what happened. We were lucky to have Grandma Hart with us for a week at the beginning of December. She helped us get our tree up and decorated, and helped Sierra sew a holiday apron. Also during December, we celebrated Emma's 7th birthday. She originally wanted to go swimming, but I waited too long and all the party rooms were booked. So, four days before her birthday we planned another party which turned out to be really fun. We went swimming a few days before to assuage my lack of planning guilt, and on her birthday, we had her friends over to decorate cookies, make pizzas, paint ornaments, and then we took everyone over to see the city Christmas lights. I made them count off before we left, and when we got there to make sure we had everybody, but the kids thought the countoff was the best game of all, so we counted off at least 20 times.

Emma and Kate were also in the Christmas Ice Show, but I forgot to post pictures of that- next time! Emma's class also performed 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and Rob's class accompanied them for a song on the bells, it was cool. Sierra showed her stuff at the Chrismas Assembly with the ballroom team, it was really fun to see her dance for the first time. Her first ballroom meet is tomorrow. We went to the symphony again this year, which I looked forward to. They put on a children's concert, 45 minutes long, and you get to meet Santa Claus. Rob and I went with his parents to see the Messiah too- that is my favorite Christmas tradition. It was amazing this year. The girls and I had fun on Christmas Eve at the Gallivan Center (Gramma and Cassidy came too). For all the skating we have done, the little girls had never skated outside! For years I thought that was the only way you could skate.

In the middle of planning the birthday, shopping endlessly, driving to the rec center, and celebrating Christmas in every way humanly possible, I also had to finish those power point lesson plans for the district. Unfortunately for me, the quietest time to work at my house is at 2 am in the morning, so by the time Christmas came, I was seriously sleep deprived. I condensed the history of western civilization from 1650 to 2000 into four power point presentations, with pictures, in less than two weeks. My head physically hurts just to remember it! So just when I'm ready to relax and settle down for my long winter's nap... we meet with the bishop and he asks me to be the new Relief Society President in our ward. Now I think I have told you a little about our new ward in the past... so needless to say, a good night's sleep has still eluded me. If you haven't had a nightmare about visiting teaching yet, let me assure you that they are terrifying. So after three weeks, I was sustained last Sunday and am off onto my next adventure. I just wish I got to drive a convertible during the adventure like Nancy Drew does.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-10T20:51:00.000-08:00

The ABCs of Our 2008:

A- Adoption of Sierra February 7th- finally! Kate started Appletree Preschool.
B- The Blog is new in 2008. Emma wowed us at her ballet recital. Sierra started, and loves ballroom dance.
C- Cure concert in May was fantastic!
D- Doctor's visits totaled 30, only once every two weeks...
E-Eleven year anniversary.
F-Fireworks in Wyoming-spectacular as always! First grade for Emma, gone all day at school, Kate doesn't know what to do with herself.
G-Kate loves gymnastics, Sierra went to Girls' Camp for the first time, and sang at her guitar recital for the first time.
H-Our Halloween pumpkins were home grown this year.
I- Ice skating, a lot of ice skating. Kate and Emma were both in the Spring Ice Show this year.
J-Just moms weekends (no kids allowed) with Leann hit a record three this year.
K- 5K Race at the elementary school, we uh... finished.
L- Lake Powell was a treat.
M- Metaphores Writing Group has been great motivation for Susie. Emma represented the first grade at lunch with the Mayor.
N- Nise Soccer- Rob's stress relief, luckily no stitches this year.
O- Rob and Susie worked together to create online lesson plans for the school district. Opening game at Real Soccer Stadium.
P- Birthday Parties- Princess for Kate, Fifties for Sierra, Hay ride for Emma.
Q-Quit trying to sell our investment house, now it is rented.
R-Recovery for Grandma Hart, who stayed with us for the month of April while getting treatment at Huntsman Cancer Institute.
S-Swim team and sewing are new talents for Sierra (say that three times fast).
T-Ten trees planted. Temple day was also adoption day.
U- Unicorns are everywhere in our house thanks to Kate.
V- Visit to Seattle for Hart wedding. Susie and Emma went together as a weekend date.
W-Waltz jump mastered by Emma! (ice skating)
X- Our neighborhood was Xed out of our beloved First Ward :(
Y- Took a trip to a Yurt in the Uintas.
Z- Visited the zoo... in the rain...with 125 kindergartners, carrying three big boxes of lunches and pushing one preschooler in a stroller... and lived to tell the tale.

Wishing you all the best for 2009! -susie, rob, sierra, emma, & kate

Thanksgiving

2008-12-04T21:40:00.000-08:00

I thought I would post once more before I put up The Holiday Letter. I cooked Thanksgiving dinner this year, which was actually fun. I just don't like doing all those dishes. We had my side of the family; thirteen of us actually fit in my dining room. We had a nice day eating, playing games, and feeding the ducks. The next day we drove to Cedar City to visit Rob's sister and family. It was hectic getting ready to leave, but very relaxing once we got there, especially because the kids don't want anything to do with me while their cousins are around. Rob decided it was wrong that we had been married for 11 years and he had never taken me shooting. So, I learned. I was much improved after finding out that I have to shoot left handed because only my right eye will close by itself. Who knew, suddenly I could hit something!

Snowfall

2008-11-20T12:13:00.000-08:00

We had a really early first snow this year. Of course it melted off right away, but not before the kids could make a snowman. It was nice too because I found out early that all of their snow clothes were too small, before the stores ran out of snow boots. The first year we moved here from Arizona I failed to buy boots before the stores stopped carrying them. I learned my lesson.

I am always excited for fall weather, and even snow. I never take the seasons for granted now, after living in Arizona for four years. Some people just love it there, but I felt like I was living in the Truman Show. The sky was always blue, it felt like a movie set. And our last year there, we had 100 straight days over 100 degrees. That was all it took for me. Once we hit 120 degrees, I started spending more and more time on realtor.com, planning our move. One of my most vivid memories there, besides Emma's birth of course, is of me staring at the ceiling fan that sounded like a helicopter. The overnight low was 99 degrees, so I couldn't open the windows. The a/c was on, but only took the edge off the heat. I couldn't sleep because the fan was too loud, and I couldn't sleep without it because it was so insanely hot. So, the moral of the story is that I always welcome the first snow.

Bummer

2008-11-13T19:52:00.000-08:00

So I thought I would tell you about my bummer of a week, that actually happened three weeks ago. In seven days time, we found out that our ward was split, or rather, that our little neighborhood was split off from our ward. Granted the boundaries have always been a little odd, but we really liked our ward, and liked going to church in the tabernacle, with its carved wood benches and huge stained glass windows. A year ago they started an experimental branch that consisted of a mercy housing developement, a trailer park, and the women's shelter. Now that branch is a ward thanks to the addition of our little neighborhood. I understand the logic of it, but it puts us in a very unique situation. Our neighborhood basically got called on a mission, in the middle of Utah. Since there are only three young women (yes, total) they combine with another ward. So, someone physically drives them to the stake center for young women's, then drives them back to the tabernacle for Sunday school. I have no idea who the leaders are, nor will I, because I will never see them at church. The Primary has less than 30 kids. Rob is the new Sunday school President. I don't know what I think of all of this yet. In some ways it is nice to have such a small group, and other days I miss the 1st ward.

Then, a few days after that shocker, I found out that Emma had asthma. I guess Dr. Jana suspected she did, but didn't say out right, just told me to take her in. Asthma! My head was spinning. I'm so glad she is feeling better now after getting treatment, but I was discouraged in the beginning at the prospect of dealing with a another chronic condition. I got a second opinion in 30 secs though. I left the doctor's office and texted Jana telling her the verdict, and she texted right back saying "yup, that's what I thought." Once my head settled, it was funny. So now my life includes two inhalers, and three kids, each with a different medicine they need everyday. Who needs Brain Age when I have my planner?

Last shocker was Saturday night of my bummer week. We found out through a letter from a lawyer that Sierra's biological mom passed away... last July. Yes, her parents opted not to tell their grandchildren. I could rant about that for a month, but I am ranted out. I was able to get a copy of the death certificate, that was the somewhat easy part, but then I had the task of telling Sierra. I have been the bearer of a lot of bad news in her short life, so I was not looking forward to this. But, she is strong now, and has a lot of support from family and friends. She had a rough day the day she found out, but the school counselor grabbed her the next day. In the end, she got talked out. We had a brief memorial so the girls could say goodbye. Sierra's older sister made a picture board, Lynn brought flowers, Sierra played her guitar, and I brought balloons. The girls wrote a goodbye on the balloons, and let them go. Amazingly, Sierra has been just fine ever since. I count this as a huge blessing, that life has just moved on. Halloween, guitar, swimming, schoolwork, friends came without incident. Most of all, this made me realize the price that drugs exact. Sierra's first mom lost her kids, then her husband, then her home, then her life. If only you could explain that to teenagers...

This Is Halloween

2008-11-10T15:20:00.000-08:00

For some reason I feel like I must blog in chronological order, so it is difficult for me to post Halloween because I haven't fit in everything that happened right before Halloween! But, Julianne wanted to see my Snow Queen costume, so I will oblige.

I'm putting up pictures of a kids' party we went to, an adult party Rob and I went to, and trick or treating. We had a good time this year. We grew our own pumpkins, so you are required to oohh and ahhh over the jack-o-lantern pictures because not only are they fine sculptures, but they are homegrown too. That was the first Halloween miracle. The second was that after going to every store in town, we found a costume that Kate was excited about. The third was that it didn't rain until most of our trick or treating was done. Oh, I remember a fourth miracle, nobody smashed the pumpkins!

Goal

2008-10-30T18:16:00.000-07:00

Rob is thrilled that the Real Salt Lake Stadium is finally opened, even if it is technically in Sandy and not Salt Lake. The opening game was during our anniversary weekend, so we went. We had a great time, even though we nearly froze to death. We stayed at the cabin for a few days, went to Park City and Gateway, and enjoyed having a few days to ourselves.

We also visited with a lot of friends in October, some of them have made a cameo here, and others I'll get next time. Leann came for a weekend sans kids, which was fantastic, especially the trip to the spa. Cami and Shane stopped by while passing through after hitting the auto auction, as did Jana after buying a condo (yeah Jana!), we went to the Duncans for dinner, but I was laughing too hard to take pictures there. Jim and Julie came for dinner on Julie's birthday. Grandma and Grandpa Hart also had a layover in our basement one night, and cousins from Cedar came to visit during the holiday formerly known as UEA but is now fall break. Looking back, I now understand why my mail, laundry and dust bunnies have all been piling up! October is my favorite month, so it is fitting that I was able to see so many of my VIPs. Keep knocking on my door!

Ode to Emma

2008-10-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

I decided it was Emma's turn to have the bloglight. Emma hasn't had a special event recently like the other girls, but I thought I would tell you how great she is anyway. Emma is like me in so many ways, good and bad. Her massive Maria Shriver hair came from me, as did the ridges in her teeth and her impatience and perfectionistic tendencies. She loves to have fun, in any form. Emma makes friends so easily, she has friends who are infants and friends who are 85. She loves to play house, and ride her bike and swim, etc. She goes and goes. Emma has a knack for learning songs. We will be driving in the car, and she can sing along with all my CDs, and can sing "shake and shimmy" from Hairspray flawlessly. She is a born performer. I have threatened to install seatbelts at the dinner table, because Emma cannot fight the urge to dance during dinner. She takes a bite or two, then flits off to twirl and spin and leap. She is never nervous for a skating or ballet performance; she just feeds off the excitement. Emma has always been fiesty, and she makes me laugh every day. She told me the other day that William had hit her during P.E. I asked her what she did. She replied, "I hit him back. It was okay, because teacher didn't see." I couldn't argue with self defense, so I just laughed. Another gem was when I told her she could have ice cream if she put on her pajamas first. She just looked at me and said, "You can't bribe me, missy." I could not stop laughing. Last time I was sick, Emma kept checking on me, and would leave me ice water on my night stand while I slept. And she often cleans my jewlery box for me and comments on how she can't believe what a mess it is already. I am so proud of her when she helps take care of Kate, or reads a big book, or passes off something new in skating. I look forward to see who she will become. I posted some pictures of her last competition because she is busy getting ready for her next one in January, Winter Games.

Rock-n-Roll

2008-10-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

I love parties. My dad used to call me "Susie Celebration" when I was little because I loved parties and would throw them whenever possible. Well, parties are quite a bit more work than when I was little, but I still love them. Whenever one of the kids has a birthday, I roll up my sleeves.

Sierra turned 12 at the end of September and we had a fifties themed party, it was a blast. We had it in Rob's parents' yard. Rob's dad has converted his barn into a game room for grandkids, complete with ping pong, air hockey, pin ball, pool, and foosball. We had a dozen six graders plus cousins and just let them loose. They played beach volleyball and ultimate frisbee, and of course, played in the game room. Once the set-up was complete, it was the easiest party I have ever thrown. We ate pizza and juke box cake and when it got dark, we turned up the real juke box. Rob even got everyone into a game of Mafia. Sierra was spoiled with presents from her friends, and got the royal treatment at school. She was sung to at least four times and decided that this was the best birthday ever. While the tie-dye birthday and hula party were awesome, this one was definitely one to remember.

Being 12 also meant that Sierra graduated from Primary at church and is now in Young Women's. I look at her and she certainly looks old enough and fits in with the other girls, but I still have not fully adjusted to the fact that her peers are now teenagers... I may not until she is in college. She also received her Faith in God award, which we are going to celebrate with a dinner out this week. I have spent a lot of time marveling at how much my kids have grown recently, and Sierra's birthday certainly gave me time to think about her growth. Sierra came to live with us right before her eighth birthday, and the journey (excuse the cliche) we have been on has been one of the most difficult things I've ever done. But, she is amazing and just by meeting her, you would never know the distance she has traveled to be where she is today, thriving and excelling. Just goes to show you that the best things in life hit you blindsided.

Preschool

2008-09-25T10:36:00.000-07:00

Kate started preschool this month. It is a little bittersweet. I have been looking forward to my youngest being in preschool for a while. The allure of six hours of alone time is great, and I have certainly enjoyed every minute of it. Kate had no problem leaving me, which was a surprise. She told me on our way to school not to hug or kiss her when I dropped her off. How sad! But I was redeemed because when we walked in the classroom, she gripped my hand and wouldn't let go. And now that school has been in for three weeks, I am allowed to kiss her goodbye. I love to see her excitement at learning how to write letters and cut and paste. She love, loves going and being with all the kids. I love to see her progress, but I also remember how not very long ago that Emma was going to the same preschool, and now she is a big kid now. Her cuteness has grown up. It didn't make me sad when Emma was in school to see her move from one stage to the next, because Kate was right behind her. Now that Kate is probably my last little one, it does make me a little sad, despite the fact that Kate's babyhood was a screaming, antibiotic-filled haze... There is something about somebody wanting to "hold you" every day that is so endearing, and I will miss.

Youtube

2008-09-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

To paraphrase the great Leann, "Youtube is great, but one video leads to another and before you know it, your family didn't eat dinner." Ha! I laughed about that for a week. The past few weeks have been great in many ways, most note worthy being school starting, all the kids loving it, a visit from Jana, two visit from my Dad and Cheryl, and a few good books. But, as you'd expect, there was plenty to annoy as well. An all-nighter with Kate, stepping in cat barf with bare feet, graffiti on our fence, and drama with a crazy lady, etc. Which brings in Youtube. I discovered that once you power wash the fence and your nasty feet, 10 minutes with Rob Paravonian on Youtube makes it all disappear. . .

A Week at the Lake

2008-09-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

It has been five years since we've been to Lake Powell. The first time I went was before Rob and I were married. We went every year with his family for several years, and each trip was an adventure. In addition to the warm weather, warm water, beautiful scenery, and fun beaches, we had overflowing toilets, wind storms, flying anchors, and dead engines (sometimes smoking, sometimes not). And then there was the crazy banana ride that left Rob with a broken nose... and jungle punch (a fine mix of everybody's leftover juice and soda, you can't even taste the backwash.) The last trip we left a day early and missed the devestating gastrointestinal plague that is the primary reason we haven't been back for five years. But, the great thing about Lake Powell is that there even the bad memories are good memories. In exchange for the effort of a flat tire on the way, and docking the houseboat in the wind, we got a week of swimming in warm blue water, riding the watercraft, watching the cousins play in the sand, dive and fish. We waterskiied, kneeboarded, and read. And we ate a lot. . . When it comes right down to it, what better way to spend time with your family?

Winding Down

2008-08-12T00:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some odds and ends pictures from earlier this summer. We just got back from Lake Powell, but I haven't found my camera yet, so I can't post those pictures anytime soon. I went on three (the kids went on four) rapid fire camping trips, and I must say, I am tired! All of them were fun, but I am ready to have clean clothes, a soft bed, and a haircut. Besides taking the last of our trips, we also finished with swimming lessons, which signals the last of summer. Two more weeks until freedom, um, I mean school starting. Sierra is headed to Girls' Camp this week (one more trip for her) and Rob is off the Phoenix (so glad its not me) and the rest of us will start school shopping. As a bona fide nerd, I always loved going back to school. I loved having new pencils and notebooks and getting new clothes. This year, I am excited because Kate is going to school too. She is starting preschool, which means I have exactely six hours of child-free time per week. What to do, where to start!

2008-07-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

So Emma's friend from next door came over the other day to ask if she could play. She told him she could as soon as she was done with her homework. He was baffled. He said, "School's out, we don't have any homework." She rolled her eyes and said, "My mom buys me homework." I was laughing, and she could not figure out what was so funny!

A Day At A Yurt

2008-07-28T21:11:00.000-07:00

I have been sorely remiss in posting, but don't you worry because I have all kinds of good stuff stocked up for you. Starting with our trip to the yurt. What is a yurt? Well, it is a type of dwelling used mostly by nomads in Mongolia, and we stayed in one in the Uinta Mountains over Pioneer Day. For those of you, who like me before moving to Utah, did not know that the 24th of July was an official holiday, it is! No bank, and fireworks are okay.

Leann was here a few months ago for a conference and won a free night at a yurt as a door prize! Since she doesn't live here, she sent it to me. Thanks Leann! We had a great time. Whenever we have a big expense come up, Rob threatens to move to a yurt to save money. That's not so scary now because yurts are pretty nice. . .

Quick sidenote for you Landerites, the yurt is located on a big camp that is maintained by none other than Luke McOmie's uncle. Mr. McOmie said Luke has a job as a consultant breaking into high tech security systems. Sounds about right : )

Independence Day

2008-07-11T13:59:00.000-07:00

There is no place like Lander on the 4th of July. I arrived home from Laramie on Monday, June 30th. Sierra flew in from California the same night. We spent one crazy day unpacking and repacking, to get ready to leave on the 2nd. Rob spent the day replacing the broken sump pump and waiting for the a/c repairman. We had one very expensive week. Crazy enough, our a/c broke the day before we left for Lander last year too, but last year it was a quick fix, this year it was a burned up motor.

We listened to Ramona the Pest and Prince Caspian onthe drive, stopping for the infamous 50 cent ice cream cone at Little America. We saw my mom's new 100 year old house in Hudson, then went to the Bills' family Freedom Celebration for the best fireworks anywhere. We hit the parade the next day, and then the city fireworks on the 4th. The kids played and played at Grandma and Grandpa Hart's, Titus played and played with his best dog friend Sam, who lives next door. Rob, Dad and I also jogged to the Falls, and I sadly report that my dad easily beat me. I'm hoping for a rematch!

2008-07-01T21:53:00.000-07:00

I abandoned house and family last weekend to go visit Leann in Wyoming. This was a fantatic idea! Leann and I have been friends for about 15 years, and remarkably we have yet to run out of things to say. We took a 35 day road trip across the country after high school graduation and never got tired of each other. So, this weekend was nothing, a paltry 72 hours of constant talking. I was so hoarse on the drive home I could barely sing (but I did anyway.) We stayed at Leann's sister's cabin (thank you Karen and Greg!). We watched the Cure Trilogy (fantastic!) sat in the hot tub (ahhh) hiked, ate a lot and slept in. The perfect vacation, especially since Leann cooked. The moose that hangs out behind the cabin was orphaned a few years ago, and Greg brought hay up for her all winter. Now, she has three baby moose of her own, pretty amazing.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Rob earned the Mother of the Year award. Sierra was visiting relatives in California with her grandparents, so Rob had charge of Emma and Kate. He cooked them dinner, kept the house clean, negotiated arguments, arranged playdates, took them on the Frontrunner train to Tracy Aviary, and even made sure they had a bath before church. I was highly impressed. Rob also reports that his indoor soccer team, That's What She Said (they are fans of the Office), took third place in the championships although they are really the second best team in the league. I will take his word on that.

I became so nostaglic for Wyoming as I drove across I-80, otherwise known as the American Autobahn, that we are headed back tomorrow. This time the destination is Lander for the World's Most Incredible Two-Day Firework Extravaganza. I will again observe a moment of gratitude as I drive through Rock Springs, reflecting on how glad I am that I don't live there. Happy birthday Jana and Julianne! Thanks for all of your comments and e-mails, I love them. Happy 4th all!

Six Months Later...

2008-06-24T00:52:00.000-07:00

You're only supposed to post every six months, right? I finally got around to adding pictures, etc. I just have to stay up until 2 am to do it! Here are some pictures of what we have been up to this year. Originally, we were going to adopt Sierra on January 17, which I thought was perfect considering Emma's birthday is 12/17 and Kate's is 2/17. That would have tucked Sierra exactely in the middle. But, as anyone who has ever gone to court knows, the day something is supposed to happen means nothing. Let me tell you, to assemble one judge, four lawyers, two defendants, and six petitioners at a single time and place requires an act of God. Our case ended up stretching out over 14 months! But on February 7 (still a 7, that's good), we were able to adopt Sierra, and Rob's sister and family adopted her younger biological sister. We marched in the courtroom all dolled up, and as the guardian ad litem said, "we're seeing a side of the judge we never see"- meaning a pleasant one. She was thrilled to see so many happy children, a novelty for her. We were granted the adoption, which was finalized immediately since the kids have each been with their families for several years. We then went out to lunch, and drove straight to the temple. There the kids changed to white and we had them sealed to their respective families (sealing is a religious adoption ceremony). It was an incredible end to a long ordeal. We had an open house and went out again that night to Tepanyaki, a Japanese steakhouse where they prepare the food on a huge grill at your table. Rob loves the flying shrimp.

Now we are in summer mode, which started with the amazing Cure concert! Rob was a good sport and went with me this time. This was my eighth show, but the first time Rob has ever been. Usually Leann is my Cure buddy. But Leann is too far away now... so I have to rely on my neighbor and fellow Cure nerd Rebekah. The show was great, even though Robert was sick and lost his full range. I missed the keyboards, and Roger on the keyboards. You need someone smiling up there. But the show was unique in sound without them. I do hope they reappear next time. The best was at the end when Robert was leaving for the final time. Simon, Porl and Jason had already left, encores were over, but Robert just lingered on the stage right on our side, taking it all in, just watching with this half-smile. He had a great time too, even sick.

Sierra sang at her guitar recital for the first time! I was incredible proud of her. She has played for two years now and is getting really good. She is taking art classes and diving this summer. Emma just had her ballet recital last week. The recital was a huge production, held at a university, with two casts. The dancers performed with a live orchestra. It is an amazing opportunity for her. She is still talking about it. Emma and Kate both skated in the Ice Show in May. I felt like I deserved an award just for driving to the rink so many times. Emma got to perform with just one other girl. She can spin now, and just learned her first jump. Kate did a little number with three other three year olds, and they stole the show. She was so proud of herself. They performed two nights, and for the cast party, they opened up the rec center, so we let them swim until 11:30 because we figured they had earned it.

2008-01-29T15:05:00.000-08:00

January 2008

So I am going to start a blog. I don't even read blogs, so this ought to be interesting. Or maybe it won't be, in which case I'll stop.